Formula 1 News: 2025 Las Vegas GP Preview

The final 3-race stretch of the 2025 FIA Formula 1 World Championship will begin with Round 22, the Las Vegas Grand Prix, at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit.

The Las Vegas weekend is unlike anything else in F1. Racing down the Strip at night has already become an iconic part of the calendar, with the high-speed layout proving an interesting challenge and providing great racing. It has drawn in both existing and new fans to the sport and  will continue to do so for many years to come. The first two editions were spectacular, and we’re sure this year will be even bigger and better.

Formula 1 first ventured to Las Vegas in the early 1980s but a circuit laid out in the car park of the Caesars Palace hotel proved widely unpopular among drivers, teams and fans. Las Vegas consequently gained an ignominious place in Formula 1 history, but across the following decades the picture for Formula 1 in the United States was transformed, as the championship’s popularity in the country blossomed.

Formula 1 returned to Las Vegas in 2023, taking over the world-famous Strip, becoming the third annual grand prix in the United States, alongside the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas, and the Miami Grand Prix at the Miami International Autodrome.

The 6.2km Las Vegas Strip Circuit – the second-longest track on the Formula 1 calendar – encompasses some of Sin City’s most famous landmarks, hotels, casinos and entertainment establishments. The lap includes several lengthy full-throttle sections, including along East Harmon Avenue, Koval Lane, and the Strip itself, with drivers flat out for almost two kilometers as they hurtle along one of the world’s most famous routes.

The lap also takes drivers around the spectacular Sphere, along the fast curves of Sands Avenue, while a challenging left-right-left complex at the end of the Strip provides the best overtaking opportunity. The lengthy full-throttle sections means teams favor a low-downforce set-up while an average lap speed during qualifying of 150mph makes the Las Vegas Strip Circuit among the fastest street circuits in the world.

Teams and drivers also have to contend with the cooler surface temperatures at night, with all of the sessions taking place after sunset. However, this year there has been a revision to the schedule, with qualifying and the race brought forward by two hours to begin at 20:00 local time. Per 2023 and 2024, the Las Vegas Grand Prix will take place on Saturday, meaning track activity begins with practice on Thursday, and qualifying on Friday.

Earlier Times

Luck won’t have much to do with the outcome of the race, even if it takes place in the city often referred to as “the gambling capital of the world.” The Las Vegas Grand Prix is the last of three rounds of this year’s world championship to be held in the United States, before the season comes to a close with the final two races in the Middle East. The timetable sees the action get underway a day earlier than standard, the sessions taking place at night under floodlights.

Therefore, the first two free practice sessions are on Thursday, with the final one followed by qualifying on Friday, while the Grand Prix itself is held on Saturday night. All sessions will start two hours earlier than they did last year. The Nevadan event has already delivered exciting races with plenty of overtaking, thanks to the track layout which includes a run down the famous Strip.

All Times Eastern

2025 Weather Forecast

Tires Hold the Key in the cool Las Vegas nights

This will be the third edition of the Las Vegas Grand Prix to take place on the Strip and the fifth time in total that a round of the Formula 1 world championship has been held in the gambling capital. In 1981 and 1982 a race was run in the Caesars Palace parking lot. The inaugural race at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, held in 2023, was won by Max Verstappen, while George Russell won last year, starting from pole position.

For the third consecutive year, the compounds chosen for the Las Vegas street circuit are the C3, C4 and C5. One of the main challenges will be tire temperature management, especially during qualifying. The fact the sessions are running earlier this year will help the drivers, as conditions won’t be quite as cold, thus helping tire warm-up.

However, the preparation lap prior to the flying lap will still be crucial to get the tires up into the right temperature window. Furthermore, this year’s tires have improved mechanical properties, which should see a reduction in degradation, which was particularly noticeable on the medium compound last year.

The decision not to go for a softer trio was down to the risk of graining, prevalent since the first edition of this race, which could excessively compromise the efficiency of the softest compound in the current range.

The race is run over 50 laps of the Las Vegas circuit, which has 17 corners and is unique because of the speeds attained and its technical layout. At 6.201 kilometers, it is the second longest on the calendar after Spa and one of the fastest in terms of average lap speed. In 2024, Alex Albon in his Williams hit the highest top speed of the season (368 km/h) on the straight between turns 12 and 14. At the latter corner, drivers experience very strong deceleration when braking and it is one of the best overtaking opportunities.

Almost 80% of the lap is spent at full throttle, the cars passing famous landmarks such as the Venetian and Caesars Palace, which hosted the first two Las Vegas GPs. For those races in 1981 and 1982, the track was laid out in a parking lot, whereas today it runs through the main streets of the city so that street furniture and oil residue from normal traffic reduces grip levels. Therefore, track evolution over the course of the weekend is expected to be particularly high.

Possible Tire Strategies

With a bit of luck, you might win at the Casino tables in Las Vegas, but in Formula 1 luck alone is not enough. Getting the strategy right involves data, simulation work and in-depth analysis. Only then can you find the winning play.

Before each Grand Prix, Pirelli provides the teams with race strategy scenarios that are in theory the quickest, based on the particular tire compounds available that weekend. This is defined by extensive calculations taking into account numerous tire-related factors.

This approach requires a different methodology to that used by the teams, even if the objectives are similar. All the data is processed by proprietary software designed to identify the optimal strategies for one car on track, with the aim of completing the race in the shortest time possible.

The first information to be analyzed concerns the performance difference between the compounds, as identified in pre-event analysis carried out by the modeling and simulation group. Then, added to this is historical data relating to tire degradation from previous years at the same track, along with data from the same compounds already used at earlier races during the current season.

A key parameter in the calculations is performance life, which is the maximum number of laps a tire can cover before its performance drops to a level where it is preferable to replace it.

These elements, along with other factors, make it possible to estimate lap times for each compound and, by also taking into account variations in fuel loads, to identify the ideal windows for tire changes.

A key factor, which the teams consider of great importance when deciding on a one or two-stop strategy, is the time taken for the car to come down the pit lane, carry out the tire change and rejoin the track, which varies from circuit to circuit. Analyses are updated throughout the race weekend, to include data from track sessions and what the Pirelli engineers have learned from the product.

The teams, having more data relating to their own cars, often use what’s known as the Monte Carlo method. This also takes into account random variables such as traffic, the likelihood of the Safety Car being deployed and how straightforward it is to overtake at each track, especially in the DRS zones.

Betting Odds

As of mid-November 2025 (pre-practice and qualifying), the latest outright winner betting odds from major sportsbooks (BetMGM, DraftKings, and others) show a tight contest at the front. Here are the current favorites to win the race (American odds format; subject to change as the weekend progresses):

*Implied probability is approximate and adjusted for sportsbook vigorish/overround.

– Max Verstappen is the consensus favorite, thanks to Red Bull’s strong historical performance on the cold Las Vegas street circuit (he won the inaugural race in 2023) and his track record in high-stakes situations.
– McLaren (Norris/Piastri) and Mercedes have been quick in 2025, but colder night-time temperatures in Vegas tend to favor Red Bull’s car setup.
– Longer shots include Ferrari duo Leclerc/Hamilton and rookies/contenders further back at +30000 or higher.

Odds will shift significantly after Friday/Saturday practice and qualifying, especially with the title fight still in play. Check live lines on sportsbooks like DraftKings, BetMGM, or FanDuel for the most up-to-date prices as the weekend unfolds. Gamble responsibly!

Fact File: Las Vegas Grand Prix

• Formula One returned to Las Vegas for the first time in over 40 years in 2023.
• The sport’s previous visits to ‘Sin City’ took place in 1981 and 1982 under the moniker of the Caesars Palace Grand Prix.
• Each edition was that year’s season finale, with the Williams of Alan Jones taking victory in 1981 and the Tyrrell of Michele Alboreto victorious in 1982.
• The current layout has 17 corners, 11 to the left and six to the right.
• The 6.201km track runs anticlockwise, and blasts through the most famous streets of Las Vegas including the Strip, at high speed.
• The track is the second-longest on the 2025 calendar, only shorter than Spa-Francorchamps.
• That includes a section over 1.9 km long from the exit of Turn 12 to the braking zone at Turn 14, which is taken completely flat.
• The 112-meter run from pole position to the first braking zone is the second shortest of the year. Only Baku in Azerbaijan (at 89m) has a shorter run.
• Speeds around the Strip circuit in Las Vegas are some of the fastest of the year, reaching nearly 350km/h.
• The set-up trade-off is ensuring that top speeds are not compromised while the car retains good mechanical grip and downforce for the low-speed corners, such as Turns 1-4, Turns 7-9, Turn 12, and Turns 14-16.
• With track and air temperatures only reaching the mid-teens, Las Vegas is again expected to be the coldest race of the year for teams and drivers.
• In 2025, Las Vegas will be the only race to be held on a Saturday in the country the Grand Prix is taking place.
• For the first time in 2025, F1 ACADEMY will join the F1 support bill in Las Vegas. The series will hold its seventh and final round of the season around the street